Pitcher List Conversations are transcripts of interviews with professional baseball players—and sometimes, players discuss topics other than baseball. This has been lightly edited for clarity.
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When I visited the Kansas City Royals in the visitors’ clubhouse at Coors Field on Friday, July 5, 2024, the place was buzzing, in part because relief pitcher Walter Pennington had been called up.
A team’s decision to call up a prospect is significant for a few reasons. First, there’s the possibility that this player will make important contributions to a team, especially if he’s a top prospect. Second, writers are always looking for new stories to cover, especially in the dog days of a long MLB season, and a new presence in a clubhouse provides that opportunity.
In Pennington’s case, it wasn’t just the Kansas City reporters who were excited; the Denver writers were as well given that he’s a Broomfield, Colorado, native and graduate of Colorado School of Mines. (Go Orediggers!) So local media was there to cover the debut of a hometown player. Moreover, his trip to the majors had not been typical: The product of a D-II school, Pennington went undrafted in 2020 before signing a minor-league contract with the Royals in August of that year. Add to that, like so many players, his career was interrupted by COVID.
I hadn’t actually planned to talk with him, but his locker had become a temporary media hub, so I sat in (and asked a couple of questions). I have identified members of the media as best I can, but since I really don’t know the Kansas City folks, I’ve been unable to identify some of them. (Please reach out to me if you’d like for me to add your name to this article.)
As you read this, it’s important to remember that Walter Pennington was absolutely beaming the entire time he spoke with the media.
There’s one other thing you need to know.
While players were going about their day and settling into an unfamiliar ballpark, Cole Ragans and Freddy Fermin were seated at a table preparing for the evening’s game. The standard rule of any clubhouse is that no one interrupts the starting pitcher. The Royals battery was quietly planning their attack as the action buzzed around them.
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Reporter 1: What are the emotions, and what are you thinking?
Walter Pennington: It’s just complete elation. I grew up here. I was dreaming to be a professional baseball player — it all started here at this stadium. And now I can get to pitch here. It’s a dream come true.
Reporter 1: So, when did you find out? I assume last night. Take us through the calls and how it all went down.
WP: I just got off the phone with my wife, and Mike Jirschele called me, the Storm Chasers manager, and I thought, he’s gonna talk about the game. He’s like, “Well, they’re sending you up. Come back to the field.”
And I went back and saw the coach and all the pitching coaches, trainers, and said bye. They were all really happy for me. I got my bag, hopped on a plane, and here we are.
Walter Pennington in the Coors Field Visitors’ Clubhouse (5 July 2024)
Reporter 1: What about the calls back — back to your wife, I assume — and what what did you hear from them?
WP: My wife was first, and she just broke down. This is something we’ve been dreaming of our whole lives, from undrafted and going to college here, high school. It’s just been a wild ride. Really grateful.
Anne Rogers: Is she from here, too?
WP: She’s from Arizona, but I met her at my college, the School of Mines, about 20 minutes from here.
Reporter 1: What’s your wife’s name?
WP: Brie Pennington.
AR: How many people are you going to have here? I assume it’s been overwhelming today ever since the news came out.
WP: I hope I remembered everybody, but, hopefully, around 50.
Walter Pennington:https://t.co/WdCGEwr74U
— Renee Dechert (@ReneeDechert) July 16, 2024
AR: Did you grow up a Rockies fan?
WP: I did. Yeah, we came to games all the time here.
AR: Is there a favorite memory that you have about the stadium or the team or anything that comes to mind?
WP: I remember Todd Helton’s last game. I was playing first base quite a bit, and him being left-handed, too. I remember his last game here — he hit a home run. That was really memorable.
AR: Were you here for that game?
WP: I was here for that game.
Reporter 1: Was he your favorite player?
WP: Yeah, he was. I was a first baseman growing up and a pitcher as well.
Reporter 1: From what we’ve seen, the numbers look great. The strikeouts. What’s been working for you?
WP: Yeah, attacking the zone. It all started in spring training with Zach Bove and Brian Sweeney. Just attack the zone, walk less guys. That really has panned out well for me.
AR: What does it mean to you to be able to go from undrafted to signing during the COVID year and everything that happened over the last couple of years to being able to make your big league debut finally?
WP: You can’t really write this stuff up. It’s like meant to be. I thank the Lord for this opportunity. From a D-II college — hopefully putting them on the map today — to this, which was a wild ride through all levels as well.
Reporter 2: I was reading when you were in high school, there was a prospect or futures game here at Coors Field. Did you play or pitch in that game?
WP: I did. I was a senior, and I came and played one game here — I think I pitched the seventh inning. And it was the first time I played on a big-league field — again, checkpoints of the dreams coming true — and look at us now.
Jaylon Thompson: When you see someone like Salvador Perez, obviously, you saw him in spring training, but now you’re going to share a locker room with him. Going forward, what does it mean just to be watching someone has been so great in the game for so long?
WP: He’s a legend. I saw him today at the hotel, and he’s just a normal human being, just walking around. He’s great, and I hope to learn from him, too.
Reporter 1: Not a lot of guys going to Colorado School of Mines with a big-league dream. What was your mindset when you went there?
WP: I was hoping to keep both dreams alive of, hopefully, Plan B in engineering, and, of course, baseball was my number one priority.
During COVID, it ended up being a blessing. I graduated with my degree, so I always have that as a backup plan, but, hopefully, I won’t have to use that.
Renee Dechert: So you’re a Colorado pitcher pitching at elevation. How are you going to approach that now that you’re back? Is it going to be a homecoming?
WP: I’m not going to think about it. Yeah, it’ll be a homecoming, but I’m not going to think about it, though. I’m going to go compete. And that’s all I’m going to think about.
RD: What kind of engineer are you?
WP: I was a mechanical engineer.
RD: Do you find that influences your pitching?
WP: I do. I do but I got to dumb it down a little bit [laughs]. I pitch best when I just feel and don’t think. Just feel.
Reporter 1: We appreciate that.
Reporter 2: No calculus for sliders?
WP: No. I know all the numbers and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, when you’re on the mound, you’ve got to make a pitch.
Reporter 2: That futures high school game, do you remember which bullpen you warmed up in and came out of?
WP: So, I make a joke [laughs]. I’ve never really been allowed to touch the grass here. They had us warm up on the warning track, and then I finally touched the mound. But today, I’ll enjoy that fully.
AR: Does all your family still live out here?
WP: They do. Most of them do live here, and they’ll be here tonight.
AR: What’s this year been like specifically for you, just in terms of getting onto a really good start in Triple-A. I know you don’t want to think about the call-up, but I assume it’s in the back of your head a little bit. How do you balance all of that while still trying to pitch well?
WP: Well, it’s hard to stay where feet are and not look at the box score, but we’ve talked quite a bit about this. Just stay where your feet are. Stay with the coaches. There’s always something to get better at. And, really, the pitching coaches keep me accountable to my team.
Reporter 2: Did the “Pennington Punchies” carryover to the Storm Chasers’ clubhouse like we saw in spring training?
WP: It did not, but Bobby said he wanted to bring it back [laughs].
Reporter 1: If he wants it back, it’s coming back.
Kelsey Wingert: Will you sleep at home tonight or at the hotel?
WP: Probably the hotel. It’s a really nice hotel, and I’m going to enjoy that.
[The press laughs and passes along more congratulations as the media availability ends.]
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The clubhouse began clearing out as players and the press made their way to the field. Meanwhile, Kelsey Wingert and I were still waiting, hoping to find another player. She and I talked as Pennington gathered his things and headed to the field.
Kelsey noticed something and said to Pennington, “Someone wants to talk to you,” gesturing over at Cole Ragans.
We watched as Ragans smiled, stopped his game preparation, and gave Pennington a big hug, a handshake, and some advice before returning to his work.
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That night, Walter Pennington entered the game in the 8th inning after John Schreiber replaced Ragans. Schreiber quickly got into some trouble, giving up two runs to tie the game and loading the bases.
And so, Pennington made his MLB debut.
He would go on to throw eight pitches, six for strikes, and get the final two outs by striking out Nolan Jones and causing Michael Toglia to ground out.
Walter Pennington — an undrafted free agent who played at Colorado School of Mines — records his first MLB strikeout at Coors Field!@Royals | @KCRoyalsPD pic.twitter.com/L6Jjr6rtrL
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 6, 2024
The Royals would lose the game, 4-2.
As Pennington told reporters later, it was a “little bit of debut magic” that helped him end the inning.
The next day, I hoped to follow up and finish this story by learning about his first time running out of that Coors Field bullpen.
However, his locker was empty with his things packed up. The Royals public relations person said Pennington had been sent down. He was throwing a bullpen and then had a plane to catch back to Omaha. Kris Bubic was coming off the IL, so Pennington’s time with the Royals was over.
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If you’d like to know Pennington’s thoughts after his MLB debut, Kevin Henry of Just Baseball did a follow-up interview. Read it here.